Prunelle x Sonia (Franquin's Gaston Lagaffe) - One shots
by Fantasiette
Summary: Little gathering of scenes about Sonia and Prunelle, a relationship I wanted to create between Franquin's characters. Both shy but deep in love with each other, let's see how they're going to finally get together...
1. Providential failure

**I  
**

Leon Prunelle was a smart man. Always head of the class, he had perfectly achieved his studies from nursery school to the fifth year of his School of Journalism, from which he had brilliantly graduated with top honours. He also was a sociable and charismatic man, much appreciated because he was very altruist. Today he was chief redactor at Spirou's Journal, and he could have been a serene and accomplished man.

But Prunelle was also a tortured man.

Always anxious, he would spend his days running and he could easily fly off the handle through very impressive angers. Perfectionist, and always afraid of not being up to doing something, he was a real workhorse, capable of staying up during entire nights, likely to get extremely angry about small details. In addition to that, Prunelle was jealous of Fantasio, co-redactor at Spirou's Journal, and also reporter for the Moustic. He saw in Fantasio all the things he thought he wasn't: handsome, charismatic, provocative, funny, brilliant. On top of that, Fantasio, contrary to Leon, was a bit misanthropist. Not that he wouldn't do his best to help someone or be appreciated by his colleagues, but he had this ability to detach himself from problems and to look at them in a very cold and objective way, preventing them from devouring him. Thus, Fantasio was such a good actor that Leon had no idea that, deep inside, they were very similar, because they both cruelly lacked of self-confidence.

But above all, what Leon envied most in Fantasio was his ability to court a woman, precisely because as he was gay and in love with Spirou, it was just a game, and he wouldn't lose control. As for Leon, although he was Fantasio's equal when it came to pin someone into the corridor and tell them a few home truths, he was on the other hand quite inexperienced in the art of flirting. Fantasio, though he was ten years younger, he was a complete artist, and thus a excellent poet and actor: he knew how to dazzle with one word, one sentence, he knew how to hide his weaknesses and doubts behind a laugh, a crushing remarque. Prunelle, on the contrary, was much more likely to be hurt by the others' remarks, and when he would find himself in front of a woman he fancied, he would feel ridiculous. Fantasio had given him a lot of advice, but Prunelle would always forget everything in a young and pretty woman's eyes, like Sonia's.

Sonia Elakhan was indeed a very pretty twenty-five-year-old woman, from a country called Rakhistan; it was a millenary-old monarchy located between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Like Leon, she was brilliant, and she had graduated from a master degree in modern literature at the University of Riveroyale, the most reputed of the region, specialized in the history of comics. With such a curriculum, Dupuis had hired her at once at the redaction, and she had been working for almost two years under Leon's orders… who deeply fell in love with her. Sonia was young, beautiful and smart, but she also was very discrete, humble and shy. She laughed easily, and everyone liked her. In addition to that, she almost never talked about herself, but she was always there to listen to someone and give them some advice. In one word, Sonia had a lot of qualities, but like Leon, she was very nervous, and she was somewhat sensitive.

And above all, she felt the same for Leon.

For almost two years, they had been implicitly courting each other, they had been courteous and everything, they had been secretly observing each other, they had blushed when the other was near… The entire redaction had understood they fancied each other, but none of them, convinced they were not good enough for the other, had realized the situation. 

**II  
**

It was a Thursday afternoon, and Leon was dreaming in the elevator of the redaction when the latter slowed down and stopped at the fourth floor. The doors opened, and Prunelle's heart missed a beat when his eyes met Sonia's. The latter blushed at once, and entered the cabin, lowering her head down:  
"Good afternoon Mister Prunelle, she stammered  
- G…Hem! Good afternoon Sonia", Leon strangled, cursing himself.  
The young woman leaned forward to push the ground floor button, and Prunelle, out of chivalry, wanted to forestall her. AS a result, their hands met, and Sonia smiled in spite of herself, dazzling Leon with her white teeth, sending him straight up to Heaven. Then they shut themselves into an embarrassed silence, their hands held together on their stomach, eyes fixed upon their shoes. The lift resumed its descent, and headed slowly towards the lower floors.  
Then suddenly, they both spoke at the same time:  
"I…  
- I wanted to…"  
They looked at each other, and smiled again, amused by the cliché of the situation.  
"Please go ahead, Leon said.  
- No, no, please, after you…  
- I really insist…"  
They politely protested for a minute, then Leon went ahead:  
"I wanted to tell you that you were fantastic, yesterday, at the conference, he said, lowering his eyes.  
- Oh… really? Sonia said twisting her hands, wanting to disappear into the floor.  
- Yes, really. It was fascinating.  
- Oh you're too kind… Actually, I wanted to tell you the same. You are very charismatic, and I was captivated by your presentation.  
- Oh come on, everyone was sleeping… Prunelle said, smiling stupidly, playing nervously with his glasses.  
- Well I wasn't", Sonia answered, laughing.  
They looked at each other, and were smiling timidly when suddenly, the elevator stopped in a great metallic noise, and the cabin was plunged into darkness.

"LeoOon…! Sonia exclaimed with a small voice, calling for the first time Prunelle by his first name.  
- Er…Yes… Yes Sonia, I'm here." He answered, moved by her reaction.  
He felt that Sonia was feeling around for him. His heart swelled with tenderness, and some force pushed him to take her hand:  
"There…I'm here. Hem… Don't be afraid, it's only a small breakdown", he said, not believing his own dare.  
Sonia clutched his hand and stammered:  
"Thank you, Mister Prunelle.  
- It's nothing. And… Call me Leon" he said, blushing in the darkness.  
They remained silent for a moment. Sonia looked for a topic.  
"I…I saw you seem to be very interested in astronomy? She asked, trying to master her voice.  
- Yes, absolutely, how do you know that?  
- There's always some magazine about that on your desk…"  
Prunelle, confident because it was a territory he knew very well and which fascinated him, laughed:  
"Yes you're right, I'm very fond of science in general."

Leon began talking for a few minutes, and Sonia tried to focus on his words, on the contact of his hand into hers, but in reality, she felt worse and worse. Indeed, since her adolescence, she had developed some absolute terror of darkness and imprisonment, and she suffered from violent anxiety attacks in that kind of situation.  
"No…No…not now… not in front of him…" she kept repeating to herself, struggling against the fear that was increasing inside her. But in her mind, the consciousness of being imprisoned into a narrow cabin, into total darkness summoned the demons of her past. In her heart, the dark tentacles of fear grew in spite of her struggle. She tried to breathe deeply, to focus on Prunelle, but soon her respiration became short-winded, and in the dark, ghostly shapes slowly appeared. She couldn't crack. She didn't want to crack in front of Leon, she would die of shame. But panic ended up overwhelming her. Mortified, she let go of Leon's hand and curled up against the wall, closing her eyes, hiding her face into her hands. She started panting:  
"Sonia, are you all right? Prunelle worried  
- … Yes… It's… It's nothing…I'm okay…"  
But she burst into tears, and turned towards the wall. 

**III  
**

Prunelle was completely stunned, and remained immobile for a moment. But then, moved by these sobs, he went towards their source, and finally put his hands on Sonia's frail shoulders:  
"Sonia, what the hell is happening to you?"  
Sonia couldn't answer at once. She was breathing with difficulty, taking great noisy gulps, like if she was drowning.  
"I…It's an attack…Shut down….In the dark… I can't stand it…."  
She ended her sentence in a loud sob which broke Leon's heart, and made his timidity melt at once:  
"Oh, now, now, Sonia… Chhhhh, come into my arms… Come here… It's over, I'm here…"  
He turned Sonia towards him and pulled her in his arms. Sonia, ashamed, slightly tried to resist and escape, but Prunelle wedged her face into his chest, and held her into a close and strong hug. Sonia finally let go, and she nestled against his chest, clutching his shirt:  
"I'm…God I'm so sorry… That's… that's r…ridiculous…, she sobbed  
- Chhhhh….now, now…Don't be afraid, don't be ashamed…. There…Calm down…. I'm right here…. I'm here with you, I'm protecting you…"  
As the young woman was deeply breathing his smell, he closed his eyes and plunged a tender hand into her long black hair, burying her face further into his chest, smiling guiltily. Since Sonia had arrived at the redaction, he had already had the opportunity to hug her briefly in a time of intense tension or sadness, but had been dreaming countless times of that particular moment. He had imagined all the scenarios that would enable him to hold that woman into his arms, to comfort her tenderly, to feel her lips and her tears on his skin, to press her body against his. He woke up countless nights, his arms wrapped around his bare chest, clutching the silhouette which haunted him. While he was firmly holding her against him, rocking her tenderly at the pace of her frightened sobs, her emotion made him sad, but he couldn't help enjoying the situation. At last he was the hero he wanted to be, protecting the woman he loved, setting himself up as a shield between her and her demons, and he dreaded it was all nothing but another dream. But Sonia was there, curled up in his arms, and her perfume was real, like the softness of her dark curls, or the warmth of her tears on the skin of his chest.

"Chhhhhh…..There, there, everything is all right….. It's going to be okay….Chhhhh….It's going to be okay…", he whispered, and he almost added "my darling".  
Sonia's grip on his shirt tightened, and she began shaking in his arms:  
"Leon, please don't let go, please…, she said, breathing with difficulty.  
-I've got you, Sonia, I'm holding you in my arms, and I'll never let go…Don't be afraid….Come on, breathe… I'm here. I won't let anyone or anything harm you, ever, you hear me?" Prunelle answered, tenderly.  
He tightened the embrace of his arms around her, and bent his shoulders to wrap Sonia into an even closer and protective hug, controlling her shakes. Then an idea struck him:  
"Oh, God, I should have thought of it!"  
He dived one hand into his pocket and took out his cell phone, which he switched on. The device instantly released a soft bluish light.  
"There, look, Sonia, see? Everything is fine."  
Sonia focused on the light. She managed to find her bearings: the lift, its walls, its floor, its ceiling. Then, she focused on Leon's collar, and out of the corner of her eye, she could distinguish the hand he had put in her hair, wedging her face into his chest while the other hand was holding the phone. Then she turned her face and nestled it again into Leon's thorax hiding her noise, her eyes and her lips into the dark hair that was abundantly covering his chest.  
Prunelle made sure the telephone wouldn't switch off, then he put it on the floor before replacing his arm around the young woman's shoulders, while the latter was huddling again against him.  
"I want you to breathe with me, deeply, Leon said. On three, you take a deep breath…One, two, three!"  
He inhaled deeply and his chest swelled under Sonia's face, and she tried to imitate him.  
"Exhale…."  
Leon breathed out, then took another breath:  
"Inhale…"  
He reiterated the operation several times, and Sonia tried to follow the movements of his thorax, breathing its masculine smell, exhaling slowly, trying to master her hiccups, to calm her beating heart, and to free herself from the weight that choked her. Leon kept rocking her tenderly, for a very long time, and slowly, Sonia calmed down. Closing her eyes, she breathed Prunelle's perfume, and she focused on the strength of his embrace.

Prunelle noticed that calming:  
"There…There… Better? He asked  
- Yes…Yes I think it's over…"  
But none of them tried to disengage from the hug.  
"I'm sorry, Sonia said.  
- Don't be. We all have demons." Leon answered, still holding her against his heart.  
Silence.  
"No one knows, here, Sonia suddenly said.  
- Don't worry, I won't say anything to anyone." Prunelle answered, understanding the message.  
New silence. Leon kept on rocking Sonia from left to right, slowly.  
"Since when have you been suffering from these kind of anxiety attacks?" he finally asked in a soft voice.  
Sonia didn't answer at once.  
"Since I was a teenager.  
- Some particular event?"  
Instinctively, Sonia nestled even more against him. Prunelle noticed it, and, pushed by a sudden impulse, he buried again his hand into her hair, and stroke it tenderly:  
"Yes…" she whispered in a strangled voice.  
She fell silent, and Leon understood he was reaching a deeply painful subject. Thus he took Sonia's face into his hands, disengaged it from his chest, and raised it towards him. Plunging his eyes into Sonia's ones, he said:  
"I want you to know, Sonia, that if ever you need a shoulder to cry on, or arms to comfort you, or an ear to listen to you, I'll be there. Always, I promise you. "  
Prunelle wasn't himself anymore. Transformed, Sonia's vulnerability had given him the strong desire to protect her against the entire world, and had completely annihilated his timidity. The young woman smiled, and a small tear rolled on her already wet cheek, a tear full of painful ghosts. Prunelle hastened to wipe it with a tender hand, and smiled in return.

Sonia put her own hand on Leon's, holding his palm against her cheek, and she closed her eyes. She looked like an angel, Leon thought, moved. Then she opened her eyes and they looked at each other for a moment, into the phone's bluish light. Sonia dived into Prunelle's dark apples through his thick glasses, before gliding along his dark mane. Her eyes lingered on his thin lips, on the dark chinstrap which stressed his square jaw. Then she went down the marked muscles of his neck, until she reached the collar of his shirt which uncovered the abundant growth of his chest, to which some of her tears were still clinging.

Prunelle was not gifted with extreme beauty, but Sonia was fond of him, and the tenderness he had just given her had significantly increased the love she had for him. She gently stroke his chest, wiping the last tears that were still holding on to his dark hair:  
"I…Look what I've done…, she said to justify her gesture.  
- That's not important, Sonia", Prunelle answered.  
She raised again her eyes to him, and, at the same time, they leaned towards each other. 

**IV  
**

Their lips were just a few inches apart when there was a big noise on the door:  
"Leon! Are you in there?' Spirou's voice yelled.  
As if they were emerging from a dream, Prunelle and Sonia split up and blushed:  
"Yes, yes it's me, Spirou, I am with Sonia.  
- Are you kidding?! Fantasio's mocking voice sounded.  
- Do I seriously sound like I'm kidding, you bloody idiot?! Leon got irritated, now open that damn door, rogntudju!  
- I'm almost there…" Spirou said, making an effort.  
The doors finally opened thanks to Spirou's crowbar, and Sonia and Prunelle winked when the light got to their eyes. They realized the cabin had got stuck between two floors. Spirou and Fantasio kneeled down and reached out inside the lift:  
"Go, Sonia", Prunelle said.  
The young woman smiled without looking at him, and she took the journalists' hands, who got her out. When she had left, Prunelle took back his phone on the floor, and climbed out by himself.  
"All right, I guess that's another masterpiece by that bloody rogntudjuuu of Gaston? Prunelle exclaimed.  
- You're guessing right, Fantasio answered.  
- Man, if I catch him…"  
I'll give him an enormous hug, he said to himself. Then he met Fantasio's mocking glance: the blonde was not stupid, and he had read Prunelle's thoughts as clearly as if they had been written in a book.  
"Hell yes, he deserves to be taught a lesson." Fantasio said, preventing himself from laughing out loud.  
Prunelle blushed violently, and felt like he was going to slaughter the blonde.  
"All right, the mechanic is on his way. Prunelle, come on, we have to take care of the reorganization of the 12th chronicle, Fantasio said to get Leon out of his embarrassement.  
- Sonia, I'd also like to ask you something, would you mind coming with me? Spirou asked.  
- Of course not, Spirou, I'm coming.  
- Let's go, Fantasio", Prunelle declared.

Spirou and Fantasio took Sonia and Prunelle towards opposite directions. But as he was going to turn into the corridor, Leon turned around. On the other side, Sonia did the same, and, for the first time since they had left the elevator, their eyes met.

They smiled to each other, and each one read into the other's eyes that within less than an hour into that elevator, their relationship had suddenly taken a new road.


	2. The friend

That evening, Dupuis had organized a great party to celebrate the launch of a new mini series for Spirou's Journal. Everyone had had a good time, drinking and laughing, and even Prunelle had put aside his worries for a moment. Indeed, he had spent the evening admiring Sonia, then they found themselves talking apart from the others, shut in the universe they were starting to build together, and into which they both felt more and more at home. They had talked with their hearts, yet none of them had evoked the incident that occurred a few weeks before into the elevator: they had got stuck inside, and Sonia, who suffered from serious anxiety attacks in confined and dark places, had cracked in front of Prunelle who had hastened to take her in his arms in order to help her calm down. When they had been released by Spirou and Fantasio, Prunelle and Sonia both had understood something had happened: they had passed a new step in their relationship, a more intimate step, for no one else in the redaction knew about Sonia's attacks. Leon had become her confidant.  
But for all that, Sonia always eluded Prunelle's questions about her past:  
"When did you leave Iran?"  
She wouldn't answer, drinking from her glass of Champaign.  
"Does your family still live there?"  
She would lower her eyes, sticking an embarrassed smile on her face, and her eyes would be darkened by the shadow of some heavy past. She would laugh, trying to sound detached:  
"Haha, you little curious. But my life is not important. Yours is, however, so tell me, where does your family live?"  
Leon wouldn't insist.

As the party was coming to an end, Prunelle wasn't drunk: he lived far away, and he needed all his head to drive. Moreover, he had foreseen that Sonia, on the contrary, risked to be too drunk to drive home. And indeed, as the young woman was not used to drinking, alcohol went up straight to her head. So when she got to the entrance of the redaction, she swayed slightly and had to lean against the wall. Prunelle rushed forward and took her arm:  
"Sonia, are you all right?  
- Hihihihi..., she laughed, yes!"  
Prunelle observed her, smiling. She had raised her wide eyes on him, and her cheeks, already tanned, had taken a pretty pinkish hue.  
"Who am I? Prunelle asked, laughing  
- Oh c...come on, hihihi, d..don't laugh at me...  
- I'm not laughing at you, I am examining your ability to drive." Leon answered, though he knew the answer to that question.  
Sonia looked at him again, and her face turned from an amused expression to some sort of tender admiration:  
'You are Leon Pr...Prunelle... And you are my superior...but ab..above all... my friend."  
Leon was touched. But he pulled himself together:  
"Ok. That's right. But I can't let you drive like that.  
- Oh no! Please, don't bother...G..God I'm such an idiot! Sonia exclaimed.  
- Tututut... I'm driving you home, period."  
He helped her dress up, covering her thin golden shoulders with her great grey coat, and he secretly stroke her beautiful black curly hair she tossed backwards. Then he took his arm gently, and he opened the door:  
"Come on, let's go.  
- Bye Leon, bye Sonia!" a voice sounded behind them.  
It was Fantasio's, who was getting ready to go home with Spirou, and who gave Leon a wink full of innuendos. The latter, in a good mood, shook his head with a smile and answered by a sign of his hand.  
When they arrived at Leon's car, Sonia did something surprising: she pressed her noise against Leon's arm, as if she wanted to enter it:  
"God, I'm cold..." she said, shaking.  
Prunelle had only one desire: pull her into a close hug, kiss her and never let go. But he restrained himself, and opened his car:  
"Come on, get inside to warm up."  
The young woman swayed again, and Leon helped her sit in the car:  
"Careful...your head...  
- Hihihi... That's funny..." Sonia laughed, making Leon smile tenderly.

The journey was peaceful, and Sonia fell asleep. When he parked in front of her house, he observed her for a while. She was curled up in her seat, in a foetal position, wrapping her arms around herself, like a child. The urge for kissing her overwhelmed Leon again, and he had to turn his eyes away. He got off the car and went on the other side, where he opened Sonia's door. There, he kneeled down and gently touched her shoulder:  
"Sonia... Sonia...? Wake up..."  
The young woman let out a small whine, then turned her face towards him:  
"We're already there?  
- Yes...Already..." Leon answered, hiding the regrets he put on the last words.  
Sonia stretched like a cat, then she smiled at Leon:  
"Would you mind helping me out of the coach, Sir Knight?, she said raising her hand.  
- Yes...", Leon answered, smiling back.  
Sonia looked puzzled, but Leon, suddenly inspired, stood up:  
"I'm going to do more than that, my Princess."  
He leaned inside the car, got her seatbelt loose, then he put her arms around his neck and lift her in his own. Sonia giggled in his shoulder, then buried her face in his neck. Prunelle, however, didn't take her at once to the house: he enjoyed the moment. He held her tight against him, closing his eyes, and rocked her gently from left to right, for a long time, trying to engrave in his mind the perfume of her mermaid hair, the sound of her delicate breathing, and the sensation of her breath on his neck, and of her hands clutching the back of his shirt. At last, he opened his eyes again and headed towards the small garden, carrying his precious burden who was dozing off again.  
When he arrived in her bedroom, Sonia was almost asleep against his shoulder. Leon needn't switch on the light: on the bed table, a small night-light was releasing a soft glow, in order to forestall Sonia's attacks, Prunelle guessed. He drew the blanket backwards, and delicately laid her down in the bed. Then he took her shoes off, as well as her jewels. He took a particular care into removing her turquoise necklace, furtively stroking her collarbones, and his hand enlaced with delight her delicate wrist when he took her bracelet off. He put everything carefully on the table, then covered Sonia with the blanket, and sat for a moment beside her, to contemplate her.  
He didn't remember ever loving a woman so much. Or at least, not this way. Most of the women he had been with had taken advantage of his gentle and nervous temper, and had shut him into some kind of poisonous, enslaving adoration. They had always made him prove his worth, and too many times, he had ended up mortified.  
Sonia was different. She was proud, yes, but also sweet and fragile. Her goodness and her beautiful soul made Leon crave for spending his entire life protecting her, hugging her against his chest, swearing her he'd never let go, like he had done into that elevator. Her youth touched him at the highest level, her sensuality made him crazy of desire, and her personality, her intelligence and her creativity commanded his admiration and respect. He was completely crazy about her, and for all this, he knew it was a much deeper love than everything he had ever lived before.  
Suddenly the young woman let out a small whine, and Leon, instinctively, put a gentle hand on her forehead, stroking her slowly:  
"Shhhhh... It's okay... I'm here, sweetheart..." he hushed.  
Sonia calmed down at the touch of his hand, and Prunelle smiled. God, she was so beautiful...and she seemed so vulnerable, like a sleeping kitten. His heart swelled with tenderness at that thought.  
Then he looked at the clock: man, half past three!  
Full of regrets, he stood up, contemplated her again, and sadly headed towards the door. He would have sold his soul to the devil only to be allowed to lay down next to her, only to hold her in his arms.  
He had almost reached the door when, as an answer to his prayers, Sonia feebly called:  
"Leon...Leon!"  
Prunelle rushed to her:  
"Yes, my Princess, I'm here."  
Sonia groped around and finally touched his hand, which she clutched:  
"Don't leave me... Stay with me, Leon, please..." she asked in her sleep.  
Prunelle couldn't believe what he was hearing. He remained immobile, and Sonia turned in the bed, taking Leon's arm with her.  
The latter remained dumbfounded for a moment, not knowing what to do.  
Then the position became very uncomfortable.

... Should I do it... or not?

...

No... Come on man, don't push your luck...

...

Oh well... After all...

Not believing what he was doing, Leon took his glasses off, put them beside Sonia's jewels. He wanted to take his watch off, but it was on the wrist Sonia was holding, and Prunelle was moved by the strength with which she was clutching it against her heart. Then he wriggled to get his shoes off, which was somewhat complicated in that position. But he finally succeeded after a few acrobatics, and he took a deep breath, and, like in his dreams, he slipped between the sheets.  
There, he put his other arm around Sonia's waist, and held her gently against him. But suddenly, Sonia turned around in his arms, and she nestled against his chest, letting out a deep satisfied sigh. Prunelle opened wide surprised eyes, which widened again when Sonia unbuttoned his shirt to lodge her face into Leon's dark and abundant chest hair, ruffled with desire. She sighed again, and Leon felt his heart bursting with tenderness and love, and he slowly closed his arms around her, as if he feared she would vanish into the air.  
But the young woman was still there.  
And she was breathing.  
Into his own chest.

Unbelievable.

Suddenly, Leon felt her tense, and she began stammering strange words:  
"No...Cut the rope...My fault... They're coming..."  
Her voice sounded frightened, and Prunelle understood she was dreaming, and that her nightmare was directly related to that past she wouldn't talk about, but which, Prunelle knew it, was marked with some very traumatic event.  
Touched, he tightened his embrace, and plunged a hand into her dark hair, wedging her face further into his chest.  
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhh..., he whispered, I'm here, my princess...I'm here...You're safe..."  
Sonia calmed down at the sound of his deep voice, and she deeply breathed his smell, nestling her face between his warm pectorals. Leon, as if he was born for this moment, kept on stroking her hair, and he went so far as to kiss her forehead...then her temple...then her cheek, wrapping Sonia into a true cocoon of love and tenderness.  
"Sleep, my darling... my love..., he said, calling her at last by these nicknames he hoped to use for such a long time, I'm holding you, my treasure... I'm watching over you...Forever..."  
And slowly, while he hugged her with strength and tenderness, the movements of his hand into Sonia's hair became slower and slower, and Leon finally fell asleep, with a sigh of pleasure.


End file.
